Kawasaki and the story of the third bike.

This week has been a busy one for Kawasaki following their best combined result of the season in Brno and the news that they are almost certain to sign Marco Melandri to their team in 2009, but speculation still surrounds the prospect of them running a third bike.

The Japanese manufacturer has long been expected to run a third bike in the series so as to acquire crucial data and establish greater competitiveness alongside their rivals.

However, while a Kawasaki source this week told Crash.net that they have not been approached by a any party interested in sponsoring, or running, a third ZX-RR in 2009, their Competition Manager Michael Bartholemy has now confirmed that plans to expand the team are being finalised.

As for the finer details, there is no word as to who could run the bike, while there is little indication as to who will be riding it either. Alice's Toni Elias is an early candidate, as is 250cc rider Alvaro Bautista, although that will likely depend on whether his Aspar team get involved as they are rumoured to be.

However, there is also a strong possibility that Kawasaki's current rider Anthony West could be eased onto the third bike now that it has been confirmed he will not occupy one of the seats in the factory team next year.

“If we do run a third bike it would be up to the sponsors and the management who the rider is, but Anthony West could be part of the package that we offer,” Batholemy told MotoGP.com. “In Misano we should be able to confirm that Melandri has joined us and we should be able to clarify the situation with the third bike.”

West's future, however, is with Kawasaki regardless, with Bartholemy suggesting that he could make the switch to the World Superbike Championship in 2009, probably with the factory supported PSG-1 outfit.

“With regard to Anthony he will not be part of the main Kawasaki MotoGP team next season but we want to offer him a contract to remain as a Kawasaki factory rider, because we have invested a lot in him to bring him up a level since he joined us last year. That could mean that Anthony rides for us in another World Championship series.”

Join
the conversation - Add your comment

Although the administrators and moderators of this website will attempt to keep all objectionable comments off these pages, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the poster, and neither Crash Media Group nor Crash.Net will be held responsible for the content of any message. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. If you find a message objectionable, please contact us and inform us of the problem or use the [report] function next to the offending post. Any message that does not conform with the policy of this service can be edited or removed with immediate effect.

No matter the rider on any Kawasaki, be it BSB WSBK or MotoGP, they are on a poison chalice. Kawasaki are showing no signs of real improvement and in the case of superbikes are in the "also-ran" class. Third bike will have no impact on the development of the bike as investment needs to be made further up the development cycle, rather than when it is on the track.
The term polishing turds springs to mind.